Auston Matthews’ goal-scoring prowess took a backseat to a stellar performance in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ net.
Toronto has been waiting for this version of Ilya Samsonov to reappear.
Matthews scored his league-leading 38th goal in the first period, Samsonov earned his first win since early December, and the Maple Leafs beat the Seattle Kraken 3-1 on Sunday night.
Matthews and Mitch Marner teamed up for a highlight-reel goal, Nicholas Robertson added a tally in the second period, and Jake McCabe sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 20 seconds left, as Toronto wrapped up its western trip with a victory.
However, Samsonov’s performance stood out in Toronto.
“Sammy was lights out for us. He made some unbelievable saves and looked really confident, poised in there,” Matthews said. “It was great to see.”
The Leafs had lost five of their previous six games, including a defeat on Saturday in Vancouver. But Samsonov made several key saves and secured his first win since shutting out Nashville on Dec. 9.
Samsonov finished with 16 saves, providing a much-needed confidence boost after a challenging six weeks, including a stint in the AHL.
In his five appearances before Sunday, Samsonov had allowed 24 goals and had a .811 save percentage over that span.
“From October to a couple of weeks ago, this time was probably the hardest in my life,” Samsonov said. “But life is moving forward, and I’m staying positive. I forgot about the past and am focused on today.”
Samsonov’s best save came with 6:39 left in the third period when he got his right pad on Justin Schultz’s shot toward an open net. It was Seattle’s first shot of the period as Toronto’s defense stifled the Kraken in the final 20 minutes.
Jordan Eberle scored for Seattle, and Joey Daccord made 23 saves.
Seattle lost its fourth straight game following their longest road trip of the season. The Kraken have been short-handed, with center Matty Beniers and top defenseman Vince Dunn out due to injuries. Additionally, the Kraken played without center Yanni Gourde, who served the first of a two-game suspension for charging.
“It’s been tough for this group right now. We just got to find a way,” Eberle said. “We’ve got four games before the (All-Star) break, and we need to find a way to win them all. But it starts with stopping the bleeding here and getting one.”
Matthews scored his fifth goal in four games, making a slick move to pull a pass from Marner to his backhand and slide the shot past Daccord’s left pad. It was the 57th time in his career that Matthews had scored the game-opening goal, surpassing George Armstrong for third-most in Toronto history.
Robertson made it 2-0 early in the second period with his seventh goal of the season. Seattle’s Jaden Schwartz was caught out of position, and Max Domi found Robertson down the wing on an odd-man rush to extend the Maple Leafs’ lead.
Holding leads has been an issue for Toronto, and Seattle pulled within 2-1 on Eberle’s goal with just under six minutes remaining in the second period. Oliver Bjorkstrand hit the post on a breakaway moments later, and a series of sprawling saves by Samsonov denied Tomas Tatar a tying goal late in the period.
Upcoming Games
- Maple Leafs: Host Winnipeg on Wednesday night.
- Kraken: Host Chicago on Wednesday night.
